Free's 2011 pig project....free food from now on!!!!

[Bubblingbrooks]

Thanks, BB. Sorry about your bone broth.

g

Thanks.
I run our chickens on our leach field some of the time, but I have to be careful with them as well. No wallows allowed!

 

[freemotion]

As for pigs falling into their water tub/sink, they DIVE in! That is the big problem with them emptying it on hot days. They swim in it, lay in it, fight over it, and just displace the water in it as they get bigger. Yes, even though they have nice wallows....it is just another wallow option for them

I use a smaller tub when they are small so they can reach into it and won't drown if they end up in it. But they very quickly graduate from the small pan to the big tub. A cast iron sink would be perfect for all but the smallest piglets.

 

[freemotion]

Being right smack in the center of the path of Hurricane Irene, we are trying to plan for it....but this is all new for us. We are planning on NOT feeding the pigs at all on the day the storm hits, in less than two days. We happen to be almost out of free food, too, otherwise we'd have a load of bread sitting on the field that they can survive on for a few days, and the storm will bring plenty of water.

We were trying to figure it out, when the restaurant owner called. I was wondering why we hadn't heard from him in a while. He had several boxes of food in the freezer for us, did we want to pick it up today? YES! It filled three five-gallon pails with salmon, veggie trim, sauces, desserts, etc. and one large produce box of breads. So the plan will be to feed them a double generous meal tomorrow night of ground corn fermented in whey with the last of the cans of powdered milk.....double to triple their normal meal, maybe more. I plan on feeding them until they stop eating. Then we will dump all the pail on the ground along with a wheelbarrow of grass clippings from today's mowing. That should keep them alive and healthy and us, too.....since we won't have to walk the several hundred feet across the tree-lined field during the hurricane.

Now what to do about the goats.....

 

[abifae]

Oh. That is a really smart plan with the pigs. I was wondering about getting out to check on any livestock during this.

Stay safe!!!

 

[freemotion]

Although we didn't get a bad storm after all, our plan worked beautifully. We were able to check on the pigs early in the afternoon on Sunday and they still had food left. They even had a few bread rolls and some grass clippings left this morning. They were very happy with all the mud and the cooler temps.

I had dh take some silly pics today.

Anticipation:

Digging in:

I'm ready for bacon!

Ginger, you are not on the dinner list....

All the hogs in all their glory....I want that big one!

And the first day pics for comparison:

 

[Wannabefree]

Hey free...I gots a question for ya. If you had been given 200 jars of old food(like 4 years old home canned) would you use it to give the pigs? Because i'm thinkin of getting a pig to do just that. I've been wanting a pig anyway, and now I am about to have food....so...seems like an opportune time, unless it'd be a bad idea. Just wondering.

 

[freemotion]

If the lids have no rust and they make that SHHHOOOOP! noise when opened, I'd gladly feed them to the pigs. Four years old isn't that bad. How big are the jars? By slaughter time, a full grown pig can eat a five gallon pail of food a day, so plan accordingly. I've not measured what mine eat, I just feed what I can get and ideally leave some part of their food in a free-choice pile so they always have something available. Mine are eating a LOT right now. 200 quart jars=50 gallons=the last two months of feeding.....nothing to sneeze at! That is a good chunk of the food needed for one pig. Especially this time of year when free food is becoming abundant.

 

[Wannabefree]

They are quarts. There may be more than 200, not sure. Thank YOU!! Now, to convince hubby

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

They are quarts. There may be more than 200, not sure. Thank YOU!! Now, to convince hubby

Round up bags of grass clippings from around too. And never underestimate the salad bar clean up at the grocery stores. Tell you are raising a pig, and they should let you take it all home everyday.

 

[Wannabefree]

They are quarts. There may be more than 200, not sure. Thank YOU!! Now, to convince hubby

Round up bags of grass clippings from around too. And never underestimate the salad bar clean up at the grocery stores. Tell you are raising a pig, and they should let you take it all home everyday.

Yeah I know where I can get a lot of hog slop for free. This is really gonna be just a start. I also have pignut hickories here in the yard, and shagbarks it can eat. Acorns, garden stuffs, etc. It should be no problem raising it up to weight.